Jaylen Brown out indefinitely with a concussion

Saturday

The second-year Celtics guard was hurt in a nasty fall Thursday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

WALTHAM – The nasty fall he took on Thursday night has resulted in Jaylen Brown being placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol.

Brown and the Celtics are relieved that he didn’t receive even more serious injuries than the concussion after landing hard on the floor following a dunk against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

“I don’t want to minimize (a concussion),’’ said coach Brad Stevens after practice on Saturday afternoon. “I think that obviously a concussion is something we have to make sure he comes back 110 percent, goes through the whole protocol and is sympton-free and all that stuff.

“But, yeah, it could have been a number of things with that fall. I think he’s fortunate, we’re fortunate, that it’s not.’’

Brown will be out indefinitely, and will miss at least the next week, as he will need to pass a series of tests and exercises before receiving medical clearance to get back on the court.

Late in the third quarter of a 117-109 win over the Timberwolves, Brown went up for a two-handed breakaway dunk but his hands slipped off the rim, causing him to land on his back and head.

There was stunned silence in the arena as Brown stayed still, but he was able to walk off on his own and joined the Celtics on their flight home after the game.

“It could have been worse,’’ said Marcus Smart, who saw Brown on Friday. “The fact that he was able to walk off on his own was satisfying to us all.

“Everybody’s telling him he’s in our prayers and things like that. He’s keeping a positive attitude, and in a situation like that you have to stay that way. And everybody’s here supporting him.’’

“He’s doing better,’’ said Stevens. “He’s sore. As far as structural with his neck, back, shoulders, he’s going to be fine.

“But he will be out obviously (Sunday) and I guess at some point he becomes day to day but I don’t see that happening any time in the next couple of days or week.’’

Stevens said he is unsure who will start in the backcourt in Brown’s place with Terry Rozier, Marcus Smart and Shane Larkin the top candidates, though he also mentioned Semi Ojeleye and Abdel Nader.

“Kyrie (Irving), Terry, Marcus are going to play their minutes they always play, plus obviously those guys will be impacted,’’ said Stevens. “More opportunity for Nader, Semi and Shane. We’ll got game to game, minute to minute like we have all year. Next man step up.’’

Rooting for Duke: Irving and Jayson Tatum, who each spent one year at Duke, took advantage of Friday’s day off to attend the Blue Devils' loss to North Carolina in the ACC tourney in New York. ... The Celtics will also host the Washington Wizards this week before playing six of seven games on the road.

Jim Fenton may be reached at jfenton@enterprisenews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JFenton_ent.

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